Fr. John Furniss - Almighty God - + Saints' Works

arms, like she held her baby brother sometimes, so she spoke to the image and said: "Mary,
my dear mother, I want very much to hold the infant Jesus in my arms." When she had said
this prayer, the image of Mary stooped down, and put the infant really into her arms; but
she found that instead of a baby made of stone, it was a living baby -- the real child Jesus.
Full of joy, she got up off her knees, and went home as fast as she could with the infant Jesus
in her arms. She went into the room where her altar was, and for three days and nights she
held the infant in her arms, without eating or sleeping. At the end of the three days she fell
asleep and when she awoke, the infant Jesus was gone away. She cried bitterly when she
found that the infant was gone, so her mother took her to the church, where they found the
little child of stone in the arms of Mary again, although for three days it had not been seen
there.
3. Do not wonder that Jesus gave himself to the little Lucy, for he loves to hear children
speak to him in prayer, because out of the mouths of infants comes forth perfect praise of
God. Psalm viii. The prayer of a little child goes up to heaven quicker than the prayer of
anybody else. There was a town called Bethulia. One time a great many thousand soldiers
came round this town. They wanted to get into the inside of it to kill the people and destroy
the town. But there was something stronger than the soldiers, and see what it was! The
little children were made to come into the chapel, and kneel down to the ground, and to
pray to Almighty God to save the town. The prayers of the little children went up to Heaven,
those cruel soldiers were obliged to go away, and many of them were killed. Judith iv. 8.
4. Heaven is for children only, if they are good, or those who become like little children,
simple meek and humble. One day Jesus took a little child by the hand, and showed it to all
the people, and told them that they could not go into Heaven unless they became like that
little child, that is, simple, meek, and humble. Children were the first martyrs of Jesus
Christ. Before anybody else had died for Jesus -- Even before St. Stephen, who is called the
first martyr, had been stoned -- a great many babies were killed in Bethlehem for the faith
of Jesus Christ, and they are called the Holy Innocents, and the blood of those dear babies
told the world that the infant Jesus was the Son of God. A little while before Jesus died, the
children were crying out his praises in the Temple of Jerusalem.
5. God loves to speak to children, he has often spoken words to children which he would not
speak to anybody else.
There was a very old priest, and a good child, who lived with the priest. Almighty God
wanted to say something to the priest, but he liked better to say it to do the child, and let
the child tell the priest. So one night when the child was asleep, God called the child by his
name, Samuel. The child awoke, and heard somebody calling his name, but he did not know
that it was God who called him. he thought in himself, perhaps it is the priest who calls me.
He got up directly and went to the priest, and said: "Please your reverence, I heard
somebody calling my name, and I thought perhaps it was your reverence who called me."
2